Does your partner complain about your loud snoring? Do you wake yourself up in mid-snore, gasping for air? Do you feel exhausted in the morning, even after you think you've slept a full 8 hours?
These are signs of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). In this common sleep disorder, the airway gets blocked or collapses many times a night. Each time your breathing pauses, your brain jolts you awake to restart it. This leads to a cycle of disrupted sleep and exhausted days.
There are many reasons to look into the cause of your nighttime symptoms. Untreated OSA is linked to problems like these:
- Accidents
- Depression
- Heart attack or stroke
- High blood pressure
- Irregular heart rhythms like atrial fibrillation
- Liver problems
- Side effects from medicines and surgery
- Type 2 diabetes
Could you have OSA? If you have symptoms, it's possible. Up to 30% of men and 15% of women in the United States live with this very common condition.
How do you know you have OSA? If you answer "yes" to any of these five questions, it could be time to see your doctor for an exam and tests.
1. Do your snores keep your bed partner – or you – awake?
In OSA, tissues in the back of your throat droop down over your airway while you sleep. With each breath, air flows over these sagging tissues and makes them vibrate noisily. That's why you snore.
Almost everyone snores once in a while. But OSA snoring is louder than normal snoring. In between the snores are gasps, pauses in breathing, or choking sounds as you struggle to catch your breath.
Your restlessness is something else that might wake your bed partner. If you toss, turn, twist, and thrash under the sheets, these could be signs of OSA.
2. Do you feel tired during the day?
People with OSA wake up between five and 30 times each hour. These frequent rude awakenings can rob you of sleep.
Though you might not realize you wake up during the night, you will notice it the next day. You'll feel extra tired in the morning, even when you thought you got a full night's sleep. You might nod off at work. You'll find it harder to focus and pay attention.
3. Do you wake up with a dry mouth or a headache?
These are important signs of OSA. The dryness happens because your mouth is open for much of the night. Exposure to the air dries out saliva. The more severe your apnea is, the drier your mouth will be.
A headache when you wake up is another common sign. An OSA headache feels like pressure on both sides of your head. The headache can last for up to 4 hours after you wake up.
Researchers don't know exactly what causes these headaches, but a drop in oxygen to your brain while you sleep could be to blame.
4. Has your mood taken a nosedive?
It's hard to be in a good mood when you haven't slept. You might notice that you're more cranky in the mornings.
Mood changes from OSA are more than just short-term crankiness. This sleep disorder is also linked to major depression.
5. Do you fit the profile?
Some things increase the risk for OSA. You're more likely to have this condition if you:
- Are over age 50
- Are male
- Are overweight or obese
- Have a wide neck or a narrow airway
- Smoke cigarettes
- Have other people in your family with sleep apnea
- Drink alcohol or use prescription sedatives
When to See Your Doctor
You suspect you might have OSA. What do you do now?
Make an appointment with your doctor. You might start with your primary care doctor, or go to an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist.
The exam might include a look inside your throat and nose, and a check of your weight, waist size, and blood pressure.
Based on the results of these tests, your doctor might send you for a sleep study called polysomnography. Usually you'll do this test in a sleep lab, but sometimes it can be done at home.
While you sleep, equipment measures your:
- Arm and leg movements
- Blood oxygen levels
- Brain activity
- Breathing
- Eye movements
- Heart rate
The sleep study will look for other possible causes of your symptoms, like restless legs syndrome or narcolepsy. If this test doesn't confirm your diagnosis, you may need a procedure like nasopharyngoscopy. The doctor places a flexible tube called an endoscope into your nose and down your throat to see whether your airway is narrow or blocked.
Questions to Ask Your Doctor
You only have a short time to spend with your doctor. Make the most of your visit by asking questions like these:
- What are some other possible reasons for my symptoms?
- How will you test me for sleep apnea?
- How do I prepare for these tests?
- What treatment will you recommend if I do have sleep apnea?
- Will I need to use a CPAP machine?
- What changes can I make in my daily routine to prevent snoring and other symptoms?
- What complications could untreated sleep apnea cause?
Though sleep apnea is common, it often goes undiagnosed because the symptoms happen at night. OSA that isn't diagnosed and treated could increase your risk of having a heart attack, high blood pressure, and other complications.
Watch for the signs and ask your bed partner if they've noticed them in you. Then see a doctor to find out whether you have OSA, so you can get on a treatment to help you breathe more easily at night.
Show Sources
Photo Credit: nicolesy / Thinkstock
SOURCES:
American Lung Association: "Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Sleep Apnea."
Cleveland Clinic: "Sleep Apnea."
Johns Hopkins Medicine: "4 Signs You Might Have Sleep Apnea."
Mayo Clinic: "Obstructive Sleep Apnea," "Sleep Apnea," "Snoring."
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute: "Sleep Apnea: NHLBI Sheds Light on an Underdiagnosed Disorder."
National Sleep Foundation: "Do I Have Obstructive Sleep Apnea?"
National Health Service (U.K.): "Obstructive Sleep Apnea."
Postgraduate Medical Journal: "The Role of Dry Mouth in Screening Sleep Apnea."
Sleep Medicine and Disorders: "Depression, Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Psychosocial Health."
Stanford Medicine: "Obstructive Sleep Apnea Diagnosis."
The Journal of Headache and Pain: "Sleep Apnoea Headache in Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Syndrome Patients Presenting with Morning Headache: Comparison of the ICHD-2 and ICHD-3 Beta Criteria."
University Hospitals: "Morning Headaches? Sleep Apnea Could Be the Cause."
UpToDate: "Clinical Presentation and Diagnosis of Obstructive Sleep Apnea."
